


The Devious Human

by Wandlessmagic



Category: The Folk of the Air - Holly Black
Genre: F/F, F/M, Slow burn for jude/cardan and OC/? Yall ready? I dont think you are
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2020-10-27 16:28:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20763419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wandlessmagic/pseuds/Wandlessmagic
Summary: Nina Kinsella was sixteen years old when she entered the cruel world of the Fae, with her mother and her mother’s new fiance, Malakai Virag. Her mother Naomi, a wild human with endless chaos in her eyes, found her place among the Circle of Grackles while Nina, an unapologetic human with kindness to spare, became lost among the Fae’s wickedness.Four years later, Nina stumbled upon a horrible secret, one that has made her one of Prince Balekin’s human slaves.** It takes place during books one and two. Will be as violent and as sexual as the books are!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came about while watching the Good Place (specifically the scene where Michael realizes death is coming for everyone) and wondered what it would be like if a pure, unapologetic human was apart of this world. 
> 
> I also made a tumblr account with the same name, no spaces if your interested in face claims and character inspo
> 
> ENJOY and please review

Chapter One

The Girl imagined she was walking along a sandy beach on a warm summer's day, listening to the soft waves as they rolled up to kiss the shore before quickly retreating into the ocean. The sun began to slowly set in the distance, turning the sky into a brilliant orange and pink hue. Closing her eyes the Girl sighed as she felt the summer breeze lightly kiss her bruised face, she was unable to remember a time in which she was ever anything but happy, a thought that made her cracked lips curl into a sweet smile, oh what a simple life I have lead.

“Do you know why you are here?” A deep voice asked from far away, causing a shiver to roll down her spine as goosebumps began to form on her skin. The Girl felt a small pull in her mind as the beach slowly began to fade around her. She was no longer standing on the beach looking out at a body of water that seemed to have no end; instead, she was standing in the middle of a long rectangular room with various paintings decorating the all, looking at Prince Balekin who was leaning against a desk. His strong arms were crossed against his broad chest, and his cold unreadable blue eyes watched her closely as if he were looking for anything amiss.

The Girl gave him a wide, toothy grin, though he didn’t return it. Unable to take it personally she rubbed her lips together and thought about his question. The world around her was still foggy and it made it hard for her to think properly. However, the Girl felt an echo of a memory slowly forming in the depths of her mind before quickly dissipating into smoke and dust the moment she began to tug at it. After a moment of silence the Girl’s lips tugged into a sweet smile, “I am here because you want me to be,” She answered, her voice quiet and rough from disuse.

“And why do I want you here?”

The girl blinked a couple of times wondering only briefly, why he was asking her these things, “I am your servant,” She answered simply before elaborating, “I am here to serve you,”

Prince Balekin continued to stare at her as he raised his hand to his chin. “Has anyone spoken to you today?” Dragging her light blue eyes away from his, the Girl couldn’t help but focus on the thorns that ran along his knuckles, a few of them disappearing into the depths of his black coat.

Sighing she shook her head, “No,” she said, “No one has spoken to me today,” She felt sad that no one wanted to speak to her, though she wasn’t all that surprised if she were being honest. Compared to everyone around her she wasn’t all that interesting.

The room was silent, except for the tick of the grandfather clock that sat in the corner of the room. The Prince stared at her for a long moment, causing her pale cheeks to flush a soft pink under the weight of it. Turning away from her the Prince walked behind his desk and began to open one of his desk drawers. The girl watched him, eyebrows furrowed in curiosity, unable to figure out if she had said something to upset or please him.

Grabbing something from the drawer Prince Balekin walked towards her, his face unreadable as he held out his hand and opened it. A small strawberry was sitting in the middle of his palm practically calling out to her. The Girl felt her eyes widen in surprise as her mouth instantly began to water at the memory of how glorious it tasted, “Take it, Nina,” the Girl hesitated and looked up at him in confusion though his eyes revealed nothing as he carefully watched her.

“Nee-na,” She muttered to herself, trying the name out on her tongue. A memory began to form in her brain of an older woman with tattoos on her arms calling out to her in a crowded street surrounded by tall buildings. Shaking her head the girl pushed the memory aside and ignored the pang in the pit of her stomach. Of course, it was her name, the Prince wouldn’t lie to her, he was a dear friend! “Thank you,” Nina said with a grin and plucked the strawberry out of his hand and shoved it into her mouth. The sweet sugary juice ran over her tongue and she felt pure joy rush over her.

As she chewed the Prince gave her a wicked grin causing her to give him a sweet smile in return.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nina has taken the place of the character Sophie. She survives the rescue whereas in the book dear Sophie did not. Please let me know what you think! I have a tumblr for this fic under the same name full of character inspirations and faceclaims if you are all interested

A lifetime seemed to have passed since the Girl had last spoken to Prince Balekin. She could barely recall the words they had exchanged it felt so long ago. The only memory that clung to her was the sweet taste of strawberry against her tongue and the name Nina. A name that would occasionally creep up out of the depths of her mind, though she didn’t know to whom the name belonged. 

As the Girl blurrily returned a book to a shelf within the library of Hollow Hall, she began to quietly hum a song whose name she had long forgotten. The notes were simple and calming. The word ‘lullaby’ floated through her thoughts before quickly disappearing. The Girl’s movements were slow, as if the air was as thick as water, but she wasn’t paying attention, her mind was elsewhere. 

Instead of being in the Library she imagined she was curled up in a dark green armchair, her oversized sweater covered her hands as she gripped a warm mug containing hot chocolate. Her bruiseless eyes flickered away from the book sitting in her lap and instead focused on the snow as it began to fall from the sky. The night she had imagined brought forth a sense of calm as she stacked a scroll on top of another. 

“Eat this,” She heard someone say from behind her. Blinking away the dream, the Girl slowly turned and saw a figure of a woman standing before her with a hand stretched out to her. Confused the Girl lowered her eyes to the Woman’s palm and immediately felt her stomach lurch at the sight of salt piled into the middle of it.

“I’m not allowed,” she explained, her eyes unable to focus on the girl in front of her, “No salt. You’re not supposed to-”

Her words were immediately cut off as the Woman pressed her hand against her lips, forcing the salt onto her tongue before locking an arm around hers. The Woman began to drag the Girl deeper and deeper into the library farther away from anyone who could potentially save her. The Girl lifted her frail arms, clawing at the hand pressed against her mouth, her teeth digging into the Woman’s flesh hoping against all hope that she’d be let go. Her efforts were futile, and soon the Woman forced the Girl against the wall. 

“I'm sorry,” The Woman whispered refusing to loosen her grip despite the Girl’s efforts to break free. “I’m winging it. I don’t want to hurt you. I want to save you. Please, let me do this. Let me save you.” 

The Girl’s mind began to swirl as her body sagged against the cold bricks which pressed against her almost translucent skin. She could barely comprehend what the Woman was saying but eventually, the Woman dropped her hand to her side. And although her mouth was free the Girl didn’t have it in her to scream as the fog surrounding her mind slowly began to clear. Blinking the Girl forced herself to try to focus on the Woman’s face, her eyes falling on her ears which she noticed were rounded where there should have been a point. She was unmistakingly Human. 

“We're getting out of here. You can trust me. Just act like everything is normal,”

Rubbing her lips together the Girl moved to nod her head in understanding but instead, she felt her whole body lean forward, as the world around her became blurry and unfocused. It was difficult for her to move, hard for her to even breathe, her limbs felt so heavy. Hearing someone sigh she felt the woman snake her arm around hers before quickly hoisting her up off of the ground. 

As the world began to spin around her the Girl forced her eyes to turn to look at the person next to her and she was shocked to see that it wasn’t a woman at all. The girl was a few years younger than she was with dark brown hair and naturally tanned skin. Something about her seemed familiar but the Girl couldn’t figure out where she knew her. Forcing herself to look away from her savior the two came to a halt outside of the library as the door closed shut behind them, the noise reverberating off of the ribbed vaults and walls of Hollow Hall. 

The Girl felt her heartbeat quicken against her chest as her light eyes took in her surroundings unable to grasp that any of this was real. “Hold on,” she heard her savior’s voice from behind her, drawing her eyes away from the gallery of pixies above, “I have to go back and-”

The Girl felt her heart drop as a small whimper escaped her lips before she could stop it. Feeling her cheeks begin to warm the Girl opened her mouth to say ‘I’m fine’ but was unable to make herself form the words because she wasn’t. Feeling unwelcome tears begin to spring in her eyes the Girl pulled lightly against her Saviors grip, hoping she would know it was okay to leave her there. But instead, the grip on her arm tightened before she was dragged back into the library so her Savior could retrieve a piece of parchment on a nearby desk.

“What’s your name?”

The Girl felt her stomach churn as her chin began to tremble against her will. The panic that she had felt deep within her chest slowly began to rise, breaking down the flimsy barriers she had tried to put into place the moment the salt entered her mouth. 

“You must remember it,” The Girl clasped her hands together to keep them from shaking as she tried to force the panic back down. “You are not allowed to cry. I will slap you if I have to.” her Savior ordered, her tone harsh though the Girl didn’t take offense. She was right, feeling anything right now, good or bad, wasn’t a luxury she could afford. She would face it all later, she promised the part of her that was broken, right now they needed to escape. Taking a deep breath the Girl nodded her head to let her know she understood and began to wipe her tears with the back of her hand. 

“Nina,” She said, her voice trembling slightly causing her to roll her eyes in frustration. You cannot afford to break, she reminded herself, her inner voice harsh and commanding. Clearing her throat she started again, this time her voice was stronger, “My name is Nina,” 

Nina felt a sense of warmth travel throughout her body as her name left her lips, bringing with it a small sliver of strength which she clung to as they began to move towards the kitchens. He didn’t erase her completely.

Nina’s heart skipped a beat as the guards came into view, causing her to school her features into one of indifference as her gaze became unfocused, her smile mirroring someone without a care in the world. “Prince Cardan says we are to attend him,” her Savior explained, her voice sounding light and dreamy, though her eyes told a different story. The guard to Nina’s left blinked and shook his head, convinced by her act. 

“Balekin won’t like that.” She hears the guard say and it takes everything in Nina not to react. Once you are free, she reminded herself, you can see your friends again, you can have a life again. Though she couldn’t recall any of their faces, it was that thought alone that made her stand her ground. Once you are free you can go home. 

“Very Well,” The first guard says, “Go. But inform Cardan that his brother demands he brings both of you back this time.”

Nina resisted the urge to shudder at the mention of the Princes and went to take a step forward when the other guard spoke, “What do you see?” he demanded, his hand wrapping around her arm as he yanked her back. Panic coursed through her veins but she stared at him dreamily, ignoring his death grip that was bound to bruise her. 

Sighing contently Nina whispered the first thing that came to mind, her voice dreamy and distant, “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…” she whispered, her voice trailing off as she let out a delusional giggle. The guard huffed in annoyance and released his grip on her, allowing her savior to tug her through the kitchens.

As they walked Nina’s eyes began to focus more and she felt her heart begin to shatter as they walked passed the other human servants. Their glazed eyes were off somewhere else, dreaming of a better place while they worked and she knew better than anyone that they would continue to do so until they died. Nina didn’t realize she began to walk slower until her Savior tugged at her arm impatiently. I will come back, she thought earnestly as she stared at each face hoping they would understand, I will help free you. No one looked up as they quickly walked out the door and into the summer night.


End file.
